Thursday, July 2, 2015

The stone walls are rising with a steady rhythm of mallets and chisels. Our master craftsmen crew of Danny, Eugene, Gus, Declan and Alan are patiently demonstrating the techniques of placing corner stones, chiseling and shaping stone, mixing mortar, keeping the walls level and plumb. The students are working in teams led by the craftsmen who help and give encouragement and pointers. We get an early start with a hearty Irish breakfast at 7am and are onsite by 7:30, and work until 7pm. The rains come, we put raingear on, the rain stops, we take the raingear off, and the sun comes out for a few hour 'scorcher' (as they say here, meaning 65 degrees F) --and repeat! Such is our rhythm and we're making great progress!